Dental implants have been known, and used, since at least the 1930's; see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,254 of Joel L. Rosenlicht. See also U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,371 of Lars Jorneus which discusses the osseointegration method of integrating a dental implant into a patient's jaw. The disclosure of each of these patents is hereby incorporated by reference into this specification.
Dental implants are moderately expensive. It often costs from about three to four thousand dollars to implant a tooth into a patient's mouth.
One of the reasons for this substantial cost is the multiplicity of steps required by the implant procedure. These prior art steps will be described below with reference to Nobelpharma catalog PRI 385 94.03 2nd edition (published by the Nobelpharma AB, Box 5190, S-402 26 Goteborg, Sweden).
In the first step of the prior art procedure, an implant or "fixture" is purchased; see, e.g., page 7 of the Nobelpharma catalog and the reference to the 3.75 mm and 4.0 mm titanium fixtures illustrated on such page.
The fixture so purchases must then be placed into an "instrument set for fixture placement", which is shown on page 22 of the Nobelpharma catalog.
Once the fixture is disposed in the "instrument set . . .", a "fixture mount" is then attached to the fixture by means of a wrench and a screwdriver. The "fixture mount" devices are shown on page 22 of the Nobelpharma catalog. The instruments for fixture placement of the fixture are also shown on page 22 of the Nobelpharma catalog (see wrench part 17 and screwdriver part 19).
Thereafter, a "connection to contra-angle handpiece" (see part 11 on page 22 of the Nobelpharma catalog) is attached to a handpiece (see page 31 of the Nobelpharma catalog); and the implant assembly may then be driven into the jawbone of a patient.
Thereafter, the fixture mount is removed from the fixture. Thereafter, a cover screw (see page 9 of the Nobelpharma catalog) is inserted into the fixture. Thereafter, the surgical site is allowed to heal for from about 3 to about 6 months. See, e.g., Branemark/Zarb/Alberektsson: "Tissue Integrated Prostheses" (Quintessence Books, 1985).
After the healing period, the implant is exposed by surgical procedures, and the cover screw is removed. Thereafter, a healing abutment (see page 39 of the Nobelpharma catalog) is attached to the fixture. It generally is left in place for from about two to about three weeks, depending upon how the patient's tissue has healed.
Thereafter, the healing abutment is then removed, and a implant abutment is then attached to the fixture. The type of implant abutment to be used will depend on the requirements of the patient. Thus, e.g., and referring to pages 38 and 39 of the Nobelpharama catalog, one may standard abutment, and "EsthetiCone" abutment, a "CeraOne" abutment, a "Ball Attachment", an "Angulated Abutment", and the like.
Thereafter, the desired prosthesis is formulated by conventional means. Once the prosthesis has been prepared, it is fitted to the patient's mouth secured to the implant.
It will be apparent that this prior art procedure requires a myriad number of prosthetic instruments and parts, many trips by the patient to the dentist, and a several surgical procedures. Not only is the process tedious and expensive, but each surgical procedure introduces a certain element of risk, pain, and suffering.
It is an object of this invention to provide a process for implanting a prosthesis in a patient's mouth which is substantially less expensive, safer, and less-time consuming than the prior art procedures.
It is another object of this invention to provide a novel dental abutment.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a novel carrier for such abutment.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a novel healing ball which may be used with the abutment of this invention.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a novel O-ring attachment system for securing dentures within a patient's mouth.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a a novel gold cylinder which may be used with the abutment of this invention.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a novel bar clip attachment system for securing a denture within a patient's mouth.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a novel fixed, detachable implant supported bridge.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a novel gold coping device for use with the implant abutment of this invention.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a process for attaching a prosthesis to a patient which process is substantially more accurate than prior art processes.